On the St. Louis Blues …
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Blues need to win, GM Doug Armstrong is on the spot, David Backes is a pending UFA, and coach Ken Hitchcock is urgently trying to right the ship. Hitchcock has been constantly shifting his lines around. He recently moved Robert Bortuzzo from defense to forward for some added physical play after Steve Ott’s injury. Is Hitchcock’s message being lost? Gordon wonders.
Can Hitchcock inspire the Blues to elevate their play during the season, building toward even more improvement as the postseason progresses?
Or will his regime end badly due to the dreaded “message fatigue” that has afflicted him and virtually every other coach to work in the NHL?
Hypothetical trades …
- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period: Bernstein comes up with five hypothetical trades with some names that have been in the rumor mill this year.
- The Ducks trade D Cam Fowler to the Maple Leafs for LW James van Riemsdyk.
- The Kings acquire D Dustin Byfuglien from the Winnipeg Jets for LW Kyle Clifford, prospect LW Adrian Kempe and a 3rd round pick.
- The Coyotes deal RW Mikkel Boedker to the Canadiens for D Jared Tinordi and its 2017 5th round pick.
- The Hurricanes deal C Eric Staal to the Nashville Predators for D Ryan Ellis, LW Colin Wilson and Nashville’s 2017 2nd round pick.
- The Flames trade RW Jiri Hudler to the Tampa Bay Lightning for RW J.T. Brown and the 2016 2nd round pick acquired from Boston.